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Basketball is not a sport, it's a way of life.

QUICK HITS

• I owe RJ Barrett an apology. Not so much for anything I’ve said per se, more for the fact that I have repeatedly capped what I thought was his growth potential. The Knicks swingman, now entering his fifth year in the league, has shown early-on that he continues to use the off-season as an opportunity to add elements to his game. In prior summers the improvements were tangible: a significant jump in 3’s attempted two seasons ago, a concerted effort to be less left-hand dominant last year. But this year, Barrett’s improvement is a bit more ineffable: confidence. Where Barrett used to hesitate, now he’s assertive. And he’s riding this newly-found trust in himself to the best offensive efficiency numbers of his career—his 45.8% from the field, 46.3% from the three, and 53.9% effective field goal percentage, are all career highs. The former third overall pick in the 2019 draft had already established himself as a rugged and durable defender—which is more than can be said for the two players taken before him (Zion & Ja)—but if he can continue to  show this type of perimeter shooting, and pressure defenses the way he has with quickened decisions, I might as well just leave the lid off expectations.

• It’s time that the New Orleans Pelicans made a consolidation trade, and not just because they are mired in another vexing season of mediocrity. But because their second-year combo guard Dyson Daniels is arriving sooner than later. Going into the summer, the Pelicans looked to be abundant at the guard spots with CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado, Kira Lewis Jr., Daniels, and rookie Jordan Hawkins all slated to get time between the two guard positions. Meaning most likely, that Daniels and Hawkins, the two youngest Pelicans, would be vying for the few available minutes off the bench. But thanks to injuries of varying significance to Murphy, Alvarado, and McCollum, in just his second-year, Daniels has been thrust into a primary role—seeing his playing time jump from an average of 17.7 minutes per game last year, to 28.4 this season. And while with the increased workload on the offensive side has still been more miss than hit (Daniels is averaging 8.2 points, on just 42% from the field and 27.3% from three), on defense he is showing the ball hawking skills and elite positional size (6’8, 200lbs) that made him a somewhat surprising 8^th overall pick in the 2022 draft. The Aussie is averaging an impressive 1.6 steals per game and is already first in the league in deflections per game (3.8) and total deflections (64).  Meaning that Daniels is reading the game defensively at an advanced rate for a 20-year-old.

  Daniels clearly isn’t ready offensively to take the reins, but the Pelicans already have a glut of ballhandling in the starting lineup, with Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and McCollum all functioning best as on-ball playmakers. And barring a surprisingly bold move (which I am very much in favor of) of one of their more substantial stars, McCollum seems likely the odd man out.